22-03-13 Podcast Script

22-03-13 Podcast script

[Prepare]
In some Bible translations, this passage begins with the word ‘therefore’. Look back. Where has Paul brought us to so far?

[Bible passage]
Romans 5:1–11

By faith we have been made acceptable to God. And now, because of our Lord Jesus Christ, we live at peace with God. Christ has also introduced us to God’s undeserved kindness on which we take our stand. So we are happy, as we look forward to sharing in the glory of God. But that’s not all! We gladly suffer, because we know that suffering helps us to endure. And endurance builds character, which gives us a hope that will never disappoint us. All of this happens because God has given us the Holy Spirit, who fills our hearts with his love.

Christ died for us at a time when we were helpless and sinful. No one is really willing to die for an honest person, though someone might be willing to die for a truly good person. But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful.

But there is more! Now that God has accepted us because Christ sacrificed his life’s blood, we will also be kept safe from God’s anger.Even when we were God’s enemies, he made peace with us, because his Son died for us. Yet something even greater than friendship is ours. Now that we are at peace with God, we will be saved by his Son’s life.And in addition to everything else, we are happy because God sent our Lord Jesus Christ to make peace with us.

[Main point]
Romans 5 reads almost like a glossary of the profound teachings of Christianity. So many key words! ‘Justified’, ‘faith’, ‘grace’, ‘reconciled’: each of the ideas is vital to a proper understanding of our faith. There is a special challenge studying a passage as packed with truth as this. Each phrase is so deep and majestic: the concepts can almost swim across our minds. Paul was a genius but for me, at any rate, it can be hard to get more than a superficial grip as I read.

The way to access all this teaching is through the person of Jesus himself. Look again at how his practical life and terrible but triumphant death weave in and out through the verses. The wonder of Romans is that Paul is so passionate about Jesus and his irrational love, whilst also ensuring that his writing is firmly rooted in reasoned argument.

Our faith is about hearts and brains. Because of Jesus’ sacrificial, inexplicable love for us, even leading to his death on the cross, believers have an entirely reasonable right to stand before God. Christians should hold their heads up in the debating chambers of this world. We can rejoice because our faith makes perfect, intellectual sense.

[Respond]
Romans is a book not of touchy-feely faith but of logical consequences. Did you spot any in today’s reading: places where one great point leads inevitably to another? Praise God for them.